My New Studio

I have a quilt studio in my present home.  For a while, I operated out of my bedroom, but as the years went by and the fabric addiction grew, it quickly became apparent to Bill that I needed my own space.  Luckily (and thankfully?) about this time, my children decided to grow up and leave home.  Quite convenient timing, if I do say so myself. 

So I took one of their bedrooms and turned it into a quilting studio.  I have cubbies along the back wall that hold my stash, an overflowing bookcase full of quilting information and patterns, a center cutting island, thread cabinets, a closet to hang works in progress and a nice, sunny space for my sewing machine (a Janome 7700, affectionately known as "Big Red"). 

My mother-in-law passed away at the end of February.  She lived in a big, old, Southern style farmhouse that has a bay window and 3200 square feet...about 800 more square feet than we have now.  Through a series of events, Bill and I have ended up with the house.  For a while we simply walked around in it and wondered what in the world we were going to do with it.  Fix it up and sell it?  Sell it as is?  Offer it to another family member? 

But as of right now, I think we're going to move into it.  There's some work that needs to be done and it is underway.  By the end of this summer, my address should change and two empy-nesters will try to figure out what in the world to do with all that space.

The defining factor in this move?  Well, for me, there were two.  Once we discovered the original oak floors in the 1930's living room....

And refinished them...

But the deal-sealer was the room that is to become my studio.  Three times as big as my present one, it has space for a larger center cutting table, lots of outlets, a closet for fabric storage (out of the light, no fading), space for a design wall, and plenty of room to move around in...